His Excellency Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan, Secretary General of the Secretary-General of the Arab Fund for Disasters and Crises Management and His Excellency Abdulla bin Mohamed Al Hamed, Chairman of DoH, honoured 46 blood donors and 20 entities in Abu Dhabi in recognition of their contributions to promoting the health and safety of the community by providing blood units to those in need. The ceremony, organised by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services (ADBBS), one of the strategic initiatives of DoH, managed by SEHA, affiliated with Pure Health.
The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Undersecretary of DoH, and more than 200 participants, in addition to a number of senior representatives from different entities participating in blood donation campaigns. During the ceremony, DoH highlighted the importance of blood donation when it comes to saving people’s lives and encouraged healthy community members who have never donated blood to contribute to this noble humanitarian act and support the healthcare sector to achieve its goals and ensure the health and safety of the wider community. Regular blood donation helps provide the necessary units necessary for a number of critical medical procedures.
In 2022, there were about 25,600 blood donors in Abu Dhabi, who contributed to providing 44,000 blood units to patients and injured people since the beginning of the year. Over the past five years, around 200,000 donors contributed to improving and saving the lives of countless patients by donating nearly 400,000 blood units across the emirate.
During his opening speech, HE Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Kaabi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), said: “Today, I am honoured to be among a group of blood donor heroes. The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi appreciates the invaluable and priceless efforts of blood donors across our country. In line with this year’s slogan ‘Donating blood is an act of solidarity’, I hope more and more blood donors will join blood donation efforts so that we can continue to save lives.”
Al Kaabi added: “Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services (ADBBS) is one of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi’s strategic initiatives that continuously aims to enhance the health and safety of the community by ensuring the provision of healthcare services in accordance with international best practices. In 2021, ADBBS, managed by Pure Health’s subsidiary SEHA, launched a new blood donation centre and a mobile blood donation unit in Al Dhafra. ADBBS conducted more than 500 blood donation campaigns, in which more than 28,000 blood donors participated. Through these campaigns, more than 53,700 blood units were collected and 20 facilities were honoured for their support of blood donation initiatives.”
Dr. Huda Khalfan Al Shamsi, Director, Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, said: “We would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude for the humanitarian efforts of blood donors to save the lives of thousands of patients. We always strive to instil values and the importance of humanitarian work in the hearts of all members of society, where we encourage them to donate blood and contribute to improving and saving the lives of countless community members. At Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, we continuously engage with our loyal donors and entities in order to support their ongoing contributions to achieving these noble humanitarian goals.”
Dr. Hamad Saif Al Nuaimi, Manager, Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, said: “We must all recognise the positive impact of voluntary blood donation and highlight its benefits to community solidarity and social cohesion. We would like to express our immense gratitude to our donors and supporters. At ADBBS, we continue to highlight the importance of the year-round commitment to donate blood in order to maintain adequate supplies and provide timely and safe blood transfusions for those most in need.”
Salma Suhail Al Khaili, a blood donor for more than 15 years, said: “Donating blood is a humanitarian act that I have been happily carrying out for more than 15 years. I know that this small act contributes to helping those most in need, which is why I hope more and more volunteers will be encouraged to donate blood to help save lives. Blood donation, without a doubt, embodies the values of giving and kindness that we were raised on and learned from our founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.”
Ahmad Abdullah Ismail, a regular blood donor, said: “Donating blood is a small part of giving back to my country and is the most precious part of me that I can offer my nation and its people. I call on all Emiratis and residents of the UAE to donate blood as it is one of the most selfless acts that you can engage in. Nothing compares to the feeling of happiness I feel every time I donate blood.”
Patients are not the only ones who benefit from donating blood, as there are great health benefits for blood donors too. Blood donation can help detect potential health problems, reduce levels of excess iron in the blood, stimulate the body to produce blood cells, lower the risk of heart disease, liver, cancer, as well as cholesterol levels. In addition to this, donating blood helps women with blood disorder complications during pregnancy or childbirth and patients with bleeding disorders (Haemophilia), surgical operations, cancer, and organ transplants patients, in addition to newborns.
Source: Department of Health Abu Dhabi